Things come and go in this world.
The mini skirt, leg warmers, even leather ties were in fashion once.
Same in rugby.
Those fingerless gloves, the small pieces of tape over the nose.
At one time, even eating a thick steak and chips was seen as ideal preparation for a match.
Now, in rugby, the in thing seems to be talking of the spine - the basis of which to build a rugby side.
A proper backbone.
A good hooker, lock, No 8, halfback, first five-eighth, centre and fullback.
Get that and the side should perform well.
Looking at the Highlanders next season, their spine is not too bad.
Not world-beating like the Crusaders, but overall better than average.
At fullback, Ben Smith is the obvious choice.
He has plenty of talent which is best used at the back.
At centre, someone like Kendrick Lynn or even Shaun Treeby is handy enough, and if Lynn can continue his improvement from the past couple of years he will be a real asset to the team.
Getting Colin Slade is the key gain for the Highlanders.
His inclusion makes the side so much better than the past couple of years.
Even a blind man could have seen Glenn Moore's Highlanders lacked a quality first five-eighth.
Not having a competent man in the No 10 jersey held the side back.
Slade has poise, is a runner, and, most importantly, appears to be able to steer a side round the field.
But, like Nick Evans before him, if he gets crook then the Highlanders will become so much less.
The Highlanders must double their cotton wool supply to keep Slade on the field.
Inside him, much will be expected from Jimmy Cowan.
No longer burdened with the captaincy, he has the chance to really stamp his mark on the game and team up with Slade to put them both into the All Black frame.
No 8 Nasi Manu had a season to forget last year as he lasted seven minutes before being laid low with injury.
One wonders whether he has the goods at this level but if ever there was a season to put it all out on the table, this is it.
If not, maybe Adam Thomson could play No 8.
He should not be lacking for motivation and does have the skill set for the modern game.
Tom Donnelly and Josh Bekhuis are champion locks, as good as anyone going around.
And then at hooker, Jason Rutledge needs to continue his form of this year.
If ever there was someone who did not want the season to end it would have been the Southland plumber.
Hopefully a few weeks at the beach will not rob Rutledge of the dynamism he possessed this season.
The only thing about the spine theory is exactly that: it is a theory.
Theories are perhaps better suited to the classroom than the rugby field.
But the foundations are there for the Highlanders, without a doubt.
New coach Jamie Joseph is a realist and knows it is not going to be easy.
But this is New Zealand rugby in late 2010.
With 200 players on professional contracts, the depth is not staggering across sides.
The Highlanders can win games, and, if they stay injury-free, they will win games.
There have been too many lean years.
They MUST win games.
